Tanzania Consultation on Impact of EAC Common Market on Migration Management

Tanzania Consultation on Impact of EAC Common Market on Migration Management

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania, November 9, 2012/African Press Organization (APO)/ – IOM and Tanzania’s Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration Department and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation will next week organize a consultative meeting on the migration implications of the East African Community (EAC) – Common Market Protocol.

The meeting will be held from November 13 – 15th, 2012, at the Double Tree Hotel by Hilton, in Dar es Salaam and participants will include senior officials from concerned ministries and departments, including the Tanzania Revenue Authority.

The EAC Common Market Protocol, which entered into force in July 2010, calls for the free movement of goods, labour, services and capital between the five EAC member states of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.

It represents the second stage of the regional integration process for EAC countries and will have important implications for managing migration in Tanzania.

The Dar es Salaam meeting aims to facilitate better understanding of the EAC – Common Market Protocol and its Annexes, and the challenges and opportunities that they represent in Tanzania. Participants will also discuss One Stop Border Posts (OSBP) and their implications for migration management.

The meeting is part of the Action Plan of the Refugee Programme Working Group of the United Nations Development Assistance Plan (UNDAP 2011-2015), which also includes supporting the government of Tanzania with equipment and infrastructure as well as technical assistance and capacity building in migration management.